Too Cruel
by PolarisJ
Summary: All he wanted was an escape from all the pain in his life. All he wanted was to get away from the tragedies for some time. All he wanted was some relief from the hellhole he calls a life. So, he chose the only available route to get what he wanted: enter Severus Snape's memories. What he finds is something greatly unexpected...


**Just something my brain cooked up, cause I love pain. This is my first HP fanfic so I apologize for any mistakes whatsoever to be found in it.**

 **-Polaris-**

Life was too cruel, Harry thought as he passed by the corpses of Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, and Fred Weasley. He reached for the container of Severus Snape's memories and caressed it lightly. Any life, any tragedy, would be better than the one in front of him, even the mean Professor's. As all those thoughts went through his head, Harry decided he needed some escape from his own mind, from his own tragedy, from his own life.

He ran as fast as he can to Dumbledore's office, searching for Dumbledore's Pensieve and ignoring the fact that all the portraits were empty. He poured the memories into the Pensieve and plunged his head in.

 **-Polaris-**

Memories flash by, scenes of Severus as a child; telling Lily she was a witch; dropping a branch on Petunia; watching Lily's family in Platform Nine and Three Quarters; the Hogwarts Express; the Sorting Ceremony; arguing with Lily; calling her a mudblood; apologizing. Then, the memories become even more interesting.

Harry is in a living room, he assumes it's Snape's home. The doorbell is heard and Snape goes to open it. A crying Lily is standing outside in the rain. He pulls her into his arms immediately, letting her cry as much as she needed and not asking anything. He pulls her into the house and closes the door using his foot. He places her next to the fireplace and leaves her momentarily to bring the blanket thrown across the couch. He wraps her in it and pulls her back into his arms as she continues weeping. She hides her face in his chest and sobs hard.

After Lily calms down, she mutters into his chest, "I found James making out with another woman in the bar he visits with his friends."

The words are unclear but Snape hears them perfectly. He mutters some swear words under his breath before pulling slightly away from Lily. She doesn't look at him, but he places his fingers under her chin and gently makes her look at him. "If James Potter doesn't see how lucky he is to have you and feels the need to cheat, then he is not worth your time."

Lily bites her lip nervously before she mutters, "it's not just that, I... I'm pregnant."

At that moment, the scene changes again. Harry can see his father angrily standing at one side of the same living room. Snape is standing at the other with a heavily pregnant Lily sitting on a chair next to him. Snape and James are arguing and Lily is rubbing her enlarged abdomen.

"They're mine! She's my fiancé and it's my child!" James screams.

Snape was about to reply but Lily cut him off, ending the fight between the men, "James, stop. It's your child, yes, but need I remind you that _you_ chose to let me go the moment you cheated on me? I am no longer your fiancé, James. As for the child, I believe once the baby doesn't need to be breastfed anymore, we can have shared custody over him or her. Until then, you can always visit. Am I right, Sev, dear?"

Severus mutters a few words under his breath before replying, "as long as he respects the people and system of this household."

Lily nods and turns to James, "his condition is not unreasonable, James. You have never respected Severus before. If you cannot respect him or the rules in his house, then you shouldn't be here."

"Alright! Fine, Snivellus!" James yells forcefully as he storms out of the house.

The scene changes yet again, and this time, as Harry looks around, he realizes he's in a church. There's very few people; a priest, Snape, Lily, baby Harry, Dumbledore, Lucius Malfoy, Remus Lupin, and Professor McGonagall. As Harry watches the scene unfold before him, he realizes what it is. Snape pushes a wedding ring onto Lily's ring finger, before she does the same to him. They smile happily as they're announced man and wife by the priest. The few guests at the wedding cheer happily as the couple kiss for the first time as spouses. The whole ceremony is lighthearted and delightful. Harry smiles softly as the memory ends.

The next memory is of the wedded couple lounging in the same living room from the previous memories. A shirtless Snape is on his back with Lily laying on top of him, their legs tangled messily. His left arm is locked around her and his right-hand fingers play with her soft hair. From what Harry could see, Lily is wearing Snape's shirt with the upper buttons undone. Her ear is pressed against his chest, listening to his heartbeat as she draws irregular shapes on the part of him that she hasn't covered with her body. The scene is quite peaceful and happy and Harry can't bring himself to hold back a smile as he watches the couple. Suddenly, Lily speaks up, "Sev, dear?"

"Yes?"

"How do you feel about children?"

"Well, isn't this a peculiar question? Why, pray tell, would you be asking about children, m'love?"

Lily bites her lip nervously before she decides to just tell him, "I'm pregnant"

Severus looks down at her, smiles, then brings his lips to hers in a loving kiss.

"You have nothing to worry about, m'love. I'll be here, with you, throughout it all"

The scene changes again and Harry's standing outside a room in St. Mungos. Snape is pacing back and forth and every few minutes, a scream can be heard from within the doors to the room. Finally, a healer comes out and calls for Snape.

"Mr. Snape?"

"Yes?" Asks Snape, anxious to know what happened.

"Congratulations! You are the father to a very healthy baby. Both mother and baby are doing well and waiting for you"

No sooner was the healer finishing her sentence was Snape rushing in to see his family. He stops just a few meters away to observe the scene in front of him. Lily is half laying on the bed, looking exhausted but sporting a big smile. She holds her baby to her chest lovingly and coos as she runs her index finger up and down the baby's cheek. Snape's heart melts as he approaches his family. He sits on Lily's side and looks down at the baby as he wraps an arm around Lily.

"He has dark hair, like you," Lily comments.

"He?" Snape chokes out.

"Mhmm, our own baby boy," Lily hums.

"What should we name him?"

After a few moments in silence, Lily speaks up, "what do you think of Vladimir?"

"Vladimir? What a strange name…"

"I read somewhere that it means prince, and I think it's quite fitting, isn't it?"

Severus stares down at his son for a moment before saying, "welcome to the world, Vladimir Severus Snape, our prince and the heir to the humble house of Prince"

Lily laughs at her husband's dramatic tendencies. Just then, the door to the room creaks open and three men, one carrying a toddler in one arm while covering his eyes with his other hand, come in. The toddler is covering his eyes much the same way as his father. "Are you decent?" The man covering his eyes calls out jokingly. The man behind him swats him on the head as the third rolls his eyes at their antics and brushes nonexistent dust from his dark green robes. From his place on the bed next to his wife, Snape, too, rolls his eyes at the actions of their guests.

The man covering his eyes finally puts his hand down and smiles at the new family. "Hey, Harry. Look," he says to the toddler in his arms, "Mama has a baby, your..." He pauses and looks at Lily questioningly.

"Brother, Harry. You have a baby brother now," Lily smiles at her first born, who subsequently tries to push out of his father's grasp.

"Dada, baby…"

James chuckles and moves towards the bed, putting Harry on the side opposite to where Snape was sitting. At that moment, the other two men approach the family as well. The one who had swatted James stands at Harry's side while the other stands next to Snape.

Vladimir chooses that moment to wake up. He groggily opens his eyes and stares out in front of him. The man standing at Snape's side looks down at the baby and smiles slightly, a look of fondness in his eyes, "dark hair and dark eyes, he'll grow up to look like you, Severus."

"Incredibly ugly?" James snickers to the man standing next to him.

Snape pretends not to hear them and looks up at the man in the green robes, who was rolling his eyes at James' antics, "let's hope he's not entirely like me, Lucius"

The third man then speaks up, "he is beautiful, Lily"

"Thank you, Remus"

The scene shifts again and Harry is sitting in a flying car, Snape is driving and muttering something about bloody Halloween and Voldemort and why Lily had to choose this day of all days to play with Harry and Vlad at Potter's house. It doesn't take long for Harry to realize that it is that fated Halloween. He shivers and his eyes widen.

As they reach near Godric's Hallow, Snape's stomach drops as he sees the devastation around the manor. He parks quickly and rushes into the house, panic filling his heart as he looks around him. The devastation inside the house is much greater than that outside. He hurries to the stairs, knowing that the nursery was upstairs. He takes the stairs two at a time and only pauses for a second to look down at James Potter's body before he runs even faster up the stairs.

Nothing could have prepared the desperate man for what he sees upon entering the nursery. A crying Harry is hiding under a table and curled into a small ball, Lily's body is lying in front of the table, a desperate look on her face; nonetheless, what pains the man the most is the small body of his one year old son at the other side of the room. The boy was clearly flung there during whatever happened in the room. A sharp rod protruded from his stomach and blood had pooled under him. Snape rushes to his son and falls to his knees next to him, cradling the boy's body to his chest.

The boy whimpers softly and looks up at his father. The Potions master casts a quick check up spell that informs him that it's too late. Vlad wouldn't make it, he lost too much blood and the rod had hit major organs.

A broken sob escapes Snape's lips as he stares down at his dying son. Vlad whimpers and weakly lifts a hand to Snape. Snape takes hold of it and brings it to his lips to place a soft kiss on the tiny fingers.

"Da... da..." Vlad calls out weakly.

A choked gasp leaves Snape's lips. Those are Vlad's first words. Vlad was saying his first words on his death bed. Snape lets out another sob and holds the child even closer, "it's gonna be okay, Prince. It's gonna be okay. You're gonna meet Mummy and she'll hug you so tight, even tighter than me. And you'll be in a better place, there won't be any pain"

As if on cue, Vlad lets out another weak whimper. Snape swallows back a sob and speaks again, "I love you, Prince. Dada loves you. Mummy loves you, too. You are loved. So, meet Mummy with a big smile"

"Da... da..." Vlad calls out, weaker and more desperate this time. Snape places a kiss on the boy's forehead, and with one last weak whimper, Vlad closes his dark eyes for the last time.

A sob racks Snape's figure as he lets out an agonized scream. He holds Vlad's limp form and moves towards Lily. He pulls her as well into his arms and tries to press them as close to him as possible. An agonized scream escapes his lips as he grieves for his family. Tears run down his cheeks as he screams and mourns his wife and son.

After a while, little Harry moves from under the table, having been too scared to move before. He calls out timidly, "Sev?"

Hearing a child's voice was too much for the mourning father, he pulls out his wand, glares at the three year old, and casts a sleeping spell. The three year old immediately falls to the ground, unconscious, as the Professor cradles his family close to him. When he hears Dumbledore and his companions arrive, Snape fixes Lily's and Vlad's position so he can carry them both. He carries them in his arms and moves down the stairs.

"What about Harry?" Dumbledore asks.

Snape glares at him before he answers, "in the nursery, unconscious, sleeping spell."

With that, the grieving father leaves the house with his family in his arms.

The next memory Harry witnesses is a funeral. Many people come but few actually care. Some people speak a few words, Lupin one of them, but Snape doesn't. He stands in front of the graves and looks down, silently crying. He can't bring himself to speak, or to meet the people surrounding him. So, he ignores it all. He ignores Lupin's speech. He ignores Lupin's pat on the back when he passes by. He ignores Minerva's words of condolences. He ignores Dumbledore's questions. He ignores Lucius' hand on his shoulder, telling him everything will be alright. He just focuses on the graves in front of him.

When everyone leaves, he collapses onto his knees. He covers his head with his arms and leans down, sobbing uncontrollably.

The next thing Harry sees is Snape placing every picture he ever had of his wife and son in a box. Before placing the last picture in the box, he stares at it.

He and Lily were playing with young Vlad, who was laughing happily. They hadn't noticed when the picture was taken, but Lucius had given it to him later on as they sat in private.

Tears make their way down his cheeks as he closes the box and charms it.

The following memories pass as a blur for Harry; Snape becoming a spy, learning of Lucius betraying him by telling Voldemort the prophecy, protecting Harry himself secretly, having to kill Dumbledore, and then Dumbledore asking if he cared for Harry and Snape casting the Patronus charm, a silver doe. After the revelations of his lost family, only one more memory stands out to Harry.

Snape telling Minerva that he did, indeed, care for Harry as a son. Snape confessing that it was Harry who finally helped him move on from his own son's death; that Harry was a son without a father, and himself a father without a son. Snape telling Minerva that he couldn't lose Harry as well.

 **-Polaris-**

Harry gasped for breath as he came out of Snape's memories. He had wanted an escape from the tragedy that he was currently living in, only to find more tragedies in his Professor's memories. His professor who turned out to be his stepfather.

Harry let out a scream at the unfairness of it all. He thought about his father's affair. He thought about his mother's choice, which he couldn't fault her for. He thought about little Vlad, about how great a man he would have made. He thought about Snape. He couldn't, for the life of him, see him as he used to.

In his eyes, Snape was no longer the spiteful professor that all students, other than the Slytherins, hated. To him, Snape was a grieving father and husband who lost everything and didn't know how to handle his loss. To him, Snape was no longer the wicked teacher, but a loving father.

Harry let out another scream and thrashed the things that were around him for a few moments, angry at how unjust fate was. He screamed some more before finally collapsing on the floor, a miserable heap. Yes, he decided, life was too cruel.

 **-Polaris-**

 **I hope you enjoyed it and reviews are always welcome.**


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